“Nations rise not by rhetoric but by responsibility — to govern ethically, perform efficiently, and lead equitably.”
Preamble
The Nigerian petroleum space has seen a crescendo of debates — from the lingering refinery shutdowns and the Cost Efficiency Order to the ESG compliance discourse and the evolving amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). The conversation has often been reactive, emotional, and political. Yet beneath the noise lies an intellectual challenge: how can Nigeria convert its abundant petroleum potential into performance that promotes prosperity with posterity in mind?
This Professorial Dialogue — a synthesis of reflections, roundtables, and public interventions — seeks to reconnect the dots through three timeless anchors: Ethics, Efficiency, and Equity. These three E’s, though distinct, are inseparable. Ethics defines why we lead; Efficiency shapes how we perform; and Equity ensures for whom we govern. Together, they form the compass for navigating Nigeria’s petroleum future.
Ethics in Resource Governance
Ethical leadership is the first casualty when politics overshadows professionalism in resource governance. Ethics is not about moral grandstanding; it is about institutional integrity. When a leader upholds fairness, transparency, and accountability, he builds trust — the most valuable capital in the petroleum industry. This call for ethical leadership resonated strongly in my presentations to the House Committee on Petroleum Downstream on October 13 and 14, 2025, where I urged legislators to look beyond politics and focus on the principles of good governance embedded in the Petroleum Industry Act. I emphasised that no reform could outperform the character of those implementing it. The PIA’s promise will remain elusive until ethics becomes the organising principle of its execution — from subsidy removal debates to revenue accountability and downstream deregulation.
True reform demands ethical constancy — the courage to apply rules equally and to resist capture by vested interests. When institutions are compromised by convenience, accountability dies quietly. Transparency in contracting, disclosure of beneficial ownership, and integrity in fiscal governance are not decorative gestures; they are governance imperatives.
Ethics also extends to intergenerational stewardship. The revenues from oil and gas are not a harvest for the present elite; they are trust assets for future Nigerians. Mismanagement today is not merely corruption — it is moral theft from posterity. Thus, the ethical reformer must look beyond political cycles to development cycles. Nigeria must rediscover the moral courage to lead with integrity — to do what is right, not what is popular.
Institutional Efficiency Counts
Ethics without efficiency breeds noble intentions with poor outcomes. Efficiency, in this professorial dialogue, transcends cost-cutting; it means maximising output for every unit of input — be it policy, people, or petroleum.
The Cost Efficiency Order 2025, recently issued by the Presidency, tries to address waste and fiscal leakages across the petroleum value chain. Yet, efficiency requires more than executive orders — it requires structural discipline. Institutions must work under clear mandates: policy belongs to the Ministry, regulation to the Commission and Authority, and commercial operations to NNPC Limited. When roles overlap, accountability disappears, and inefficiency becomes institutionalised.
In those same House Committee sessions, I stressed that efficiency must underpin downstream deregulation and cost-recovery frameworks. Nigeria’s fiscal sustainability depends on reducing operational redundancies, enforcing transparent pricing mechanisms, and aligning domestic supply policies with market realities. The downstream sector cannot thrive under inefficiency disguised as social protection. True social justice lies in performance, not perpetual subsidy.
Consider the Port Harcourt Refinery. Its shutdown since May 2025 has been both painful and necessary. Sometimes, a temporary halt prevents long-term value destruction. Efficiency must be measured not only by output but by the sustainability of outcomes. If refineries work perpetually at a loss, they destroy value rather than create it. Hence, the goal should not be to make refineries work at all costs but to make them work efficiently — through transparent procurement, skilled management, and merit-based oversight.
Efficiency also demands data-driven decision-making. The petroleum industry cannot thrive on assumptions and anecdotes. Real-time data on production, lifting, and payments is vital for fiscal accountability and investment confidence. Nigeria must adopt a culture of evidence-based policymaking where policies are informed by performance metrics, not political pressure.
The linkage between efficiency and national prosperity is direct. When the petroleum value chain functions efficiently, from licensing to export, foreign exchange is conserved, domestic jobs are created, and the energy sector contributes meaningfully to GDP — not just in volume but in value. Thus, efficiency is the bridge between reform theory and economic reality.
Equity and Corporate Social Investment
The third pillar, Equity, gives moral direction to ethics and efficiency. Equity ensures that the gains of petroleum development are distributed across regions, generations, and socio-economic classes. It is the antidote to exclusion and the guarantor of social stability. It serves as the foundation for corporate social investments.
Equity in Nigeria’s petroleum context has multiple dimensions. First, fiscal equity — how revenues are shared between the federation, producing communities, and future generations. The 2021 PIA tried to address this through the Host Communities Development Trust, but implementation has been uneven. Where host communities perceive unfairness, peace is fragile. Equity demands not just funding but fairness in representation, project choice, and benefit delivery.
Second, energy access equity. Energy is a right, not a privilege. Yet millions of Nigerians stay in energy poverty despite living in an energy-endowed nation. The paradox of darkness amidst abundance reflects policy failure, not resource scarcity. Nigeria’s transition must therefore be anchored on energy for development, not just energy for export. Gas, as a transitional fuel, offers a path to inclusive industrialisation — if managed equitably.
Third, intergenerational equity. The decisions made today about exploration, production, and energy transition will define the options available to future Nigerians. The global decarbonisation agenda must not become another form of structural inequity against Africa. Thus, Nigeria’s strategy must balance climate responsibility with economic realism — ensuring that the transition is just, fair, and locally beneficial.
In this sense, equity is not an economic variable but a moral constant. It asks of leaders: who benefits, who bears the burden, and who gets left behind? A petroleum policy that enriches a few while impoverishing many is not only inefficient — it is unjust.
The intersection of ethics, efficiency, and equity becomes most visible in Nigeria’s current governance landscape. The PIA, Nigeria’s most comprehensive petroleum reform in half a century, offers a chance to institutionalise these principles. Yet, three years into its implementation, cracks are emerging — signalling a return to old habits. The House Committee dialogues reinforced a key point — reform without oversight breeds regression. I cautioned lawmakers against piecemeal amendments that weaken institutional independence. Instead, the focus should be on transparent implementation, measurable outcomes, and fiscal discipline within the downstream sector. Policy coherence, I reminded them, is the oxygen of efficiency.
Transparency stays the golden thread that ties reform together. Nigeria’s commitment to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) must go beyond periodic reports. Real transparency means real-time disclosure of contracts, revenues, and expenditures. It means empowering citizens to follow the money from the wellhead to the treasury — and holding those who divert it accountable. Without transparency, ethics becomes theory, and efficiency becomes illusion. A nation’s petroleum destiny is not written in its geology but in its governance. Nigeria has the reserves, the talent, and the market. What it lacks is institutional consistency — the discipline to stay on the course. The conversation, therefore, must shift from reform to institutional renewal.
Institutional renewal requires leadership that is transformational, not transactional. It requires policy stability, meritocracy, and a long-term vision that outlives political cycles. The Ministry of Petroleum, the Regulatory Authorities, and the National Oil Company must function not as competitors but as collaborators within a unified value-creation framework. Education and human capital also lie at the heart of renewal. A petroleum industry that neglects research, innovation, and professional training will forever depend on imported experts.
Concluding Remarks
The role of institutions like FUPRE Energy Business School and the Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation is to nurture the next generation of leaders who understand that ethics and efficiency are not opposites but complements — and that equity is the measure of leadership success. Nigeria stands at an inflexion point. The global energy landscape is shifting; investors are watching; citizens are waiting. The choices we make now will decide whether we are still a rent-seeking nation or evolve into a value-creating economy.
Ethics will define our integrity, Efficiency will define our performance, and Equity will define our humanity. These three must not merely be words on a page but virtues in practice — the moral, managerial, and developmental pillars of Nigeria’s petroleum renaissance. The dialogue must therefore continue — not as an echo chamber of lamentation but as a professorial dialogue that enlightens, empowers, and transforms. For in the end, nations do not rise by rhetoric but by responsibility — the responsibility to govern ethically, perform efficiently, and lead equitably.
Dajin Baturiya: A Sahelian Jewel in the Global Climate Conversation
OMOWUMI O. ILEDARE, PhD,
Sr. Fellow USAEE, Fellow NIPetE,
Fellow EI, Professor Emeritus,
Louisiana State University, Baton
Rouge, USA & Executive Director,
Emmanuel Egbogah Foundation,
Abuja, Nigeria
